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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Katrina, the most-destructive and third-deadliest storm in U.S. history, also was a force for change, spurring major advancements in forecasting and communication. Since its rampage in late August 2005, scientists have developed several new high-tech tools to better predict the strength and track of storms, in hopes of preventing a similar… Continue reading 2005’s Hurricane Katrina led to improvement in storm forecasting |
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June 2015 weather recap: Warmer and wetter than normal conditions for the month
The month of June was a rather eventful one with wetter than normal conditions starting things out and temperatures coming in quite a ways above normal. Further, the month lived up to its reputation as Colorado’s severe weather month with numerous notable thunderstorms and a good bit of tornado activity.
The month started out warm and dry but on the 3rd a cold front moved in cooling things down and bringing healthy shots of rain. On the 4th and 5th Thornton saw more than a half inch of rain on each day.
To our north, the 4th brought extreme weather in the form of an EF-3 tornado near Berthoud and multiple, smaller tornadoes in the Simla area to the southwest.
We then dried out a bit and warmed up but on the 9th another cold front arrived. Like the previous system, cooler temperatures and a decent shot of rain followed.
In the first 18 days of the month, Thornton saw 14 days with measurable precipitation. That however chanced for the latter third of the month as we dried out and warmed up significantly. There were still days with thunderstorms but the bulk of them seemed to just miss Thornton for the most part.
Such was the case of the 24th when extreme weather hit to our south. While we saw just a bit of rain, other areas near central Denver recorded far more and an EF-1 tornado struck from northeast Denver to northwest Aurora.
Overall Thornton’s monthly average temperature for June 2015 came in at 69.0 degrees. This was a good ways above the long term June average for Denver of 67.4 degrees. Out at the airport, the Mile High City’s official average reading was 69.5 degrees.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 94.3 degrees on the 21st down to a low of 50.5 degrees on the morning of the 6th. Denver’s highest reading of 94 degrees came on the 30th and its lowest of 51 degrees on the 3rd.
In terms of precipitation, both Thornton and Denver recorded identical amounts in their rain buckets. The 2.53 inches of precip bested Denver’s June average of 1.98 inches by a good bit. In all, Thornton saw 16 days of measurable precipitation while Denver recorded 13.
Click here to view Thornton’s June 2015 climate report.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
806 PM MDT SAT JUL 4 2015
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2015...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2015
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 06/26/2012
06/25/2012
54/01/2206
LOW 30 06/02/1951
HIGHEST 94 06/30 94 06/26
LOWEST 51 06/03 42 06/15
AVG. MAXIMUM 82.9 82.4 0.5 83.4
AVG. MINIMUM 56.1 52.3 3.8 51.2
MEAN 69.5 67.4 2.1 67.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 6 7.9 -1.9 6
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 4.96 1882
MINIMUM T 1890
TOTALS 2.53 1.98 0.55 1.82
DAILY AVG. 0.08 0.07 0.01 0.06
DAYS >= .01 13 8.4 4.6 9
DAYS >= .10 5 4.6 0.4 5
DAYS >= .50 2 1.4 0.6 1
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.99 06/05 TO 06/05 06/27 TO 06/27
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0
TOTALS 0.0 0.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 11 62 -51 30
SINCE 7/1 5583 6058 -475 6004
COOLING TOTAL 154 133 21 106
SINCE 1/1 158 155 3 127
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
........................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/167
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/160 DATE 06/24
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 47/160 DATE 06/24
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 6
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 2
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 61
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 16 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 5
LIGHT RAIN 16 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 3
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 1
FOG 6 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1
HAZE 3
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
June 2015 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow
The month of June typically sees springtime severe weather reach its height of activity in northeastern Colorado.
This affords the opportunity to capture extraordinary images of amazing weather phenomena from monstrous supercell thunderstorms to heavy rain, hail and even tornadoes.
- Slideshow updated July 1, 2015
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather and nature related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted. June brings some very dynamic weather and the photos are a great way to see the stunning variety.
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
| [flickr_set id=”72157654137987799″] |
What is missing in the slideshow above? Your photo!
Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured. The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.
Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids. Whimsical, newsy, artsy. Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard. You name it, we want to see and share it!
Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State. We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.
We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.
What do you win for having your image in our slideshow? We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes. However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.
To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets. Links are provided below.
So come on, get those camera’s rolling!
- Email: info@ThorntonWeather.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThorntonWeather
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Thorntonweather
- Twitter: @ThorntonWeather (https://twitter.com/thorntonweather)
Aurora, Colorado tornado rated EF-1
The National Weather Service completed an assessment of the damage caused during yesterday’s severe weather in the Denver metro area. They determined that a tornado did indeed touch down and was responsible for the bulk of the damage in Aurora.
The service said the twister was on the ground for 2.8 miles as it passed through Aurora. It however was not a wide tornado only reaching a maximum of 50 yards. Maximum winds were estimated at 86 to 90 mph giving it an EF-1 rating.
The complete text from the National Weather Service statement follows:
NOUS45 KBOU 251829 CCA PNSBOU COZ030>051-260600- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED ENDING TIME NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER, CO 1148 AM MDT THU JUN 25 2015 ...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 06/24/2015 TORNADO EVENT... .EAST DENVER/WEST AURORA TORNADO... RATING: EF-1 ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 86-90 MPH PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 2.8 MILES PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50 YARDS FATALITIES: 0 INJURIES: 0 START DATE: 06-24-2015 START TIME: 4:48 PM START LOCATION: 39.724808/-104.900896 END DATE: 06-24-2015 END TIME: 5:10 PM END LOCATION: 39.736784/-104.851191 ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24TH BETWEEN 4:48PM AND 5:10 PM, A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN EAST DENVER AND WEST AURORA. THE TORNADO FIRST TOUCHED DOWN NEAR QUEBEC AND 6TH AVE. IT THEN MOVED EAST-NORTHEAST ACROSS THE LOWRY CAMPUS INTO THE WEST PART OF AURORA. THE TORNADO THEN LIFTED NEAR MOUNT NEBO MEMORIAL PARK. BASED ON TREE DAMAGE THERE WAS LOW END EF1 WITH WIND SPEEDS ESTIMATED IN THE 86-90 MPH RANGE. MOST OF THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE TORNADO WAS IN THE EF0 RANGE.SOME HOMES HAD MINOR ROOF DAMAGE WITH ONE FORMER APARTMENT BUILDING ON THE LOWRY CAMPUS HAVING SOME HIGHER END ROOF DAMAGE WITH ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS IN THE 86-90 MPH RANGE.THE TORNADO PATH LENGTH BASED ON DAMAGE POINTS WAS 2.8 MILES AND THE WIDTH WAS LESS THAN 50 YARDS. EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES. EF0...WEAK...... 65 TO 85 MPH EF1...WEAK...... 86 TO 110 MPH EF2...STRONG.... 111 TO 135 MPH EF3...STRONG.... 136 TO 165 MPH EF4...VIOLENT... 166 TO 200 MPH EF5...VIOLENT... >200 MPH NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA.
May 2015 weather recap: A very wet, cool month for Thornton
The first quarter of the year started out dry but April started to signal a turn toward wetter conditions and the month of May certainly followed through on that. Not only was it a very wet month, it was also much cooler than normal.
A seemingly endless series of disturbances moved through the state almost from the first day through the last day of May 2015. We started out dry but the third of the month began the wet period with five straight days of precipitation. That was capped off by a decent shot of snowfall on the 10th of the month.
After that we did dry out for at least a few days before the wet weather returned on the 15th, albeit with lesser amounts of precipitation overall. By the time the month was over, 18 of the 31 days had seen measureable precipitation in Thornton.
Temperatures were quite cool for the month with the average in Thornton coming in at 52.2 degrees. This was nearly five degrees below Denver’s May average of 57.1 degrees. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City officially saw an overage of 53.0 degrees.
Thornton’s mercury readings ranged from a high of 87.3 degrees on the 31st down to a low of 27.8 degrees on the morning of the 10th. Denver saw its warmest reading of 85 degrees on the 31st also and its coldest reading of 27 degrees occurred on the 9th and 10th.
In terms of precipitation, the numbers help to showcase just how wet of a month it was. Here in Thornton we recorded 6.40 inches of liquid precipitation, far above the long term Denver average for May of 2.12 inches. Officially, Denver also saw above normal precipitation although not by near as much as they recorded 3.76 inches.
That reading was not enough to push May 2015 into the books as one of the top 10 wettest Mays. However, the airport’s outlying location as compared to historical measurement sites is probably the only reason why. As Thornton’s measurement and those of other station’s shows, we were far wetter than what DIA saw.
Snowfall in May is not unusual and Thornton saw 5.1 inches from one storm on the 9th and 10th. Out at the airport 4.0 inches was recorded. Both were a good bit above the May average of 1.1 inches.
Click here to view Thornton’s May 2015 climate report.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
645 AM MDT MON JUN 1 2015
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2015...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2015
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 95 05/26/1942
LOW 19 05/02/2013
05/03/1907
HIGHEST 85 05/31 87 05/28
05/29
LOWEST 27 05/10 30 05/12
05/09
AVG. MAXIMUM 63.3 71.5 -8.2 70.6
AVG. MINIMUM 42.7 42.7 0.0 44.5
MEAN 53.0 57.1 -4.1 57.5
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.8 -0.8 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 3 1.9 1.1 4
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 8.57 1876
MINIMUM 0.06 1974
TOTALS 3.76 2.12 1.64 3.51
DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.07 0.05 0.11
DAYS >= .01 19 9.4 9.6 13
DAYS >= .10 10 4.8 5.2 6
DAYS >= .50 2 1.2 0.8 3
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.2 0.8 1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.18 05/08 TO 05/09 05/20 TO 05/21
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTAL 4.0 1.1
RECORD MAY 15.5 1898
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 367 265 102 244
SINCE 7/1 5572 5996 -424 5974
COOLING TOTAL 4 21 -17 21
SINCE 1/1 4 22 -18 21
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
NORMAL
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.3
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/106
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 45/280 DATE 05/02
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/280 DATE 05/02
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.80
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 0
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 15
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 16
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 70
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 9
LIGHT RAIN 23 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 1
LIGHT SNOW 2 SLEET 0
FOG 14 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 7
HAZE 3
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
Thornton’s June weather preview: Our severe weather month arrives
Extreme weather can occur during in month in Colorado we well know. June however is when traditional spring severe weather arrives in the state oftentimes with hail, damaging wind and tornadoes.
Over 40 percent of the tornadoes that occur in Colorado happen during the month of June. Far more common are thunderstorms with hail and wind, each responsible for extensive damage each year.
While severe weather is common, so too are brilliantly sunny and mild days as we close out spring and enter summer. If you are looking for cold, it isn’t likely but it is possible as the Denver area has seen freezing temperatures and yes, even snow, during the month.
Read more about Thornton and Denver’s June weather and a look ahead at this year.
May 2015 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow
Colorado’s famously highly variable weather seems to showcase itself during the month of May when a variety of weather conditions can be seen. This provides a prime opportunity for photos of everything weather to flora to fauna.
The month of May can bring extremes. Snow is not entirely uncommon during the month but more common is severe weather, particularly in the latter half of the month. Thunderstorms become more frequent and their associated hazards – lightning, wind, hail and tornadoes – are usual visitors. Providing additional subjects for pictures are the emerging spring flowers and our abundant wildlife.
- Slideshow updated May 31, 2015. To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather-related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted in images captured from yours and our cameras.
| [flickr_set id=”72157652075811140″] |
What is missing in the slideshow above? Your photo!
Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured. The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.
Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids. Whimsical, newsy, artsy. Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard. You name it, we want to see and share it!
Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State. We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.
We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.
What do you win for having your image in our slideshow? We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes. However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.
To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets. Links are provided below.
So come on, get those camera’s rolling!
- Email: info@ThorntonWeather.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThorntonWeather
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Thorntonweather
- Twitter: @ThorntonWeather (https://twitter.com/thorntonweather)
Time lapse video of Thornton’s Mother’s Day weekend snow
The past week or so has brought quite a variety of weather, most notably seven straight days of precipitation. On Saturday we saw a continuation of the rain which changed to snow overnight, an event captured by one of our webcams.
Over the seven days, Thornton recorded a whopping 4.34 inches of liquid precipitation. Most of that fell as rain but 5.1 inches of snow provided some of that as well.
The video below shows the period from 3:00pm on Saturday, May 9 through 5:00pm on Sunday, May 10 compressed to about 53 seconds. It starts with rain which soon transitions to snow as the evening arrives. The snow continues into the following morning and then skies begin to clear and the snow quickly melts.
Denver sets record low temperature for May 10
To go along with our Mother’s Day snow, we also have seen some cold – record-setting cold in fact.
Denver’s official low temperature, as measured at Denver International Airport, dropped to 27 degrees this morning. That ties the record low for today’s date set previously in 1946.
Here in Thornton we were just a little bit warmer with a low of 28 degrees this morning.
In terms of snowfall, Denver reported 4.0 inches at DIA as of 7:00am this morning. Here in Thornton we received 5.1 inches.
Looking ahead, the record low for May 11 is 28 degrees (also in 1946). With clearing skies later today and into tonight, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that mark tied or broken tomorrow AM.
Stay up to date with Thornton’s weather: Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and add us to your Google+ circles.
Thornton’s May weather preview: Everything from snow to severe storms
Colorado’s famously highly variable weather seems to showcase itself during the month of May when a variety of weather conditions can be seen.
Winter-like temperatures and snow are possible as are mid-summer like temperatures or the more typical spring severe weather.
As the month starts out in 2015 we are going to enjoy a mild period with unseasonably warm temperatures but with unsettled conditions. Long range forecasts lean toward overall warmer than normal temperatures and above normal precipitation.
However the month can bring extremes. Snow is not entirely uncommon during the month, oftentimes causing damage to newly bloomed trees. More common however is severe weather, particularly in the latter half of the month. Thunderstorms become more frequent and their associated hazards – lightning, wind, hail and tornadoes – are usual visitors.
For a complete look at what lies ahead for the month of May, check out our full preview here.